Elvis Presley Movies

Elvis and costar Jocelyn Lane. In 1971, Lane became a princess when she married into royalty.

By the time Tickle Me was released, the storylines of Elvis Presley’s musicals had
become paper-thin and the credibility of his characters had become strained by
their ridiculous occupations. Though disturbing to critics and biographers,
fans understand that the appeal is Elvis himself, not his characters.

Here,
Elvis stars as Lonnie Beale, a singing rodeo cowboy who moonlights as a
handyman at a beauty spa. Though several women try to catch the attention of
Lonnie, including spa owner Vera Radford, played by Julie Adams, the rodeo
rider falls for Pam Merritt. Pam, portrayed by Jocelyn Lane, is visiting the
spa to investigate a nearby ghost town where her grandfather has supposedly
hidden a cache of gold.

Pam enlists the help of Lonnie and his sidekick
Stanley, played by Jack Mullaney, to recover the treasure. Unscrupulous locals,
also looking for the gold, try to frighten the hapless trio into leaving the
territory, but the three eventually prevail. Lonnie and Pam marry at the end,
marking one of the few times that one of Elvis’s characters actually weds
on-screen.

Behind the Scenes of Tickle Me

Tickle Me represented a somewhat different arrangement
between Colonel Parker, Elvis, and Allied Artists Productions, the studio
producing the film. Allied was facing deep financial trouble. They desperately
wanted to make a deal with Elvis because a Presley picture was a guaranteed
money-maker. The Colonel agreed to cut Elvis’ salary from $1 million to
$750,000 (plus the usual 50 percent of the profits) to help Allied cut
expenses. This meant that the studio had to come up with the rest of the budget
-- a mere $750,000. To keep within that minuscule budget, no new songs were
purchased or recorded for the film. The soundtrack was made up of previously
recorded Elvis tunes. True to form, this Elvis musical comedy was financially
successful. Allied executive Steve Brody later admitted Elvis’ hand in saving
his studio, "You might say they were ready to wheel the patient out when Dr.
Presley came in."